Go for it. The high jump doesn't really require the fast twitch muscles like the horizontal jumps. I've seen many distance kids excel in the high jump. Coordination is more important than vertical jump. If you can run a curve and at least touch the rim, you will be capable of clearing 6'. High jumping has gotten so bad, that 5-10 will place in many State Meets.
HJ requires quadriceps and Achilles tendon strength, along with kinesthetic sense.
OP -- what are you jumping now? How tall are you? How old are you?
I think people in this thread have it backwards. Im not a HJ guy who wants to run, im a mid/bad runner who wants to do HJ as a secondary. To answer your question im 5'9 (not tall for a jumper) and in 11th grade
HJ requires quadriceps and Achilles tendon strength, along with kinesthetic sense.
OP -- what are you jumping now? How tall are you? How old are you?
I think people in this thread have it backwards. Im not a HJ guy who wants to run, im a mid/bad runner who wants to do HJ as a secondary. To answer your question im 5'9 (not tall for a jumper) and in 11th grade
Interesting the topic. I have 13 year old who recently won Aussie U14 800m title and have encouraged him to continue high jumping and long jump for the benefits stated before on regards to plus and limb strength. He has jumped 5'5 and yes his talent is in m-dist events with 54.04 and 2:02.7.
Depending on your age keep rolling with it. You will know when the time to stop is.
I came across a copy of Wottle's log at my house. It is all handwritten, and those old enough to remember copiers quality from the 70's, difficult to read. I will give details only where necessary. Other than workouts, runs w...
Jan Johnson of Bloom High School south of Chicago back in the 60s and 70s was state champ in the pole vault and later went on to win a bronze in the Olympics and 3 NCAA championships.
He was 5th man on the Bloom team's state cross country Championship team! How the heck?
He runs a pole vault camp. His daughter, Chelsea, was a silver medal winner at the World Championships.
To answer your specific question, doing the high jump will not hurt your distance running, unless you count the potential for an injury. I ran on a college team with the national champion in the 600 (it was yards back then) who was screwing around in the high jump the week before nationals and injured his back and was unable to defend his title. It is also possible to fall on the approach if you do not have high jump shoes.